I recently attended a local ‘Immigration Simulation’ event where everyone was given a ‘character’ with a back story as to why they are trying to get into America. They then had to live out the frustrations of the USA immigration process, and believe me it was just as frustrating as my experience. We were told that the process can take 16 YEARS to go through the whole process and become a citizen.

So you want to visit Dubrovnik Croatia, of course being in a tourist area the accommodation options are expensive and even in shoulder season the area around the Old Town is PACKED with people, so why not consider staying in Lapad? It’s just 4km away from Dubrovnik’s Old Town, which is around a 45 minute walk or a 15 minute bus ride! Lapad definitely makes for a more peaceful stay in the Dubrovnik area!

Essex holds a very special place in my heart, why? Because I was born and lived there for over 26 years of my life, so I guess you could call me an Essex Expert! One thing that drives. me. INSANE, is that wherever I go people are like “oh yeah, The Only Way Is Essex! I’ve watched that!”. That programme is awful, there is so much more to Essex than the area where that is filmed! Essex is the county just to the East of London and has awesome transport links to the capital! So if you are after ideas for days out in Essex or even things to do in Essex with kids (remember I grew up in Essex when I was a kid!), here are some of my favourite places to go!

2017 is over, it doesn’t seem possible! So it’s time to reflect on some of the awesome places I visited and my favourite travel memories from 2017! This year I’m going to divide them up into the American Midwest, Europe and Worldwide…just like my tag line “exploring England, Iowa and everywhere in between!”. What have been some of your 2017 highlights?

Oh hello again Expat Update! I can’t believe it’s the end of 2017! Here I’ll be looking back on what I’ve been up to for the last 3 months, the places I’ve been, the highs and lows, life as a Brit in the States and other random things I’m finding interesting this month!

How do you file a US tax return when your spouse lives overseas? I was asked this question by a reader the other day and I thought I would try my best to answer it in its own post! If you’re going through the USA spouse visa process, the chances are because of how long it takes, there’ll be a time when you need to file taxes when your husband or wife still isn’t living in the country. My reader was concerned about how the NVC (National Visa Centre) would view their marriage by the way they filed and if they’d need to apply for an ITIN number. This is how we filed ours in 2016 for the 2015 tax year and how we managed to satisfy both of these queries.

It wasn’t until I really sat down and thought about it, that it occurred to me just how emotional airports can be. Just think about experiences that you might have had. I know that I personally must have experienced what feels like every emotion on the spectrum! It fascinates me to sit at an airport and wonder where people are coming from or going to and what their stories are and now I’m going to share with you some of mine!

I saw a comparison on Facebook the other day about the differences between Christmas in the UK and Christmas in the USA and I had to disagree with most of what they were saying was true to an English Christmas! It may have been true a long time ago but growing up in the 90s and 00’s, it didn’t ring true to me. Today I’m reminiscing about the Christmas traditions I had growing up (*hint* there was no Elf On The Shelf or computers and smart phones!)

Welcome to Between England and Iowa!

I’m Kylie and this is my Travel & Lifestyle blog! I’m a British girl, with an American husband, blogging about the USA visa process, expat life and active travel in the American Midwest and beyond! I went from living in a country with 5 weeks vacation time, to a country that doesn’t even have to give you 1 week. You CAN travel if you make it a priority and I’ll show you how!! If you have any questions or just want to say hi, feel free to contact me!

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